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Monday, December 31, 2007

You find this list of questions everywhere but I don't know if I've ever answered them before. Linda is always kind enough to print just the questions for easy copying before she posts her answers so I was inspired by her to jump in. It took a long while to do, it's far from easy but it is interesting. I'd love to know what your answers are. If you don't have a blog but would like/allow them to be posted in public I'd be happy to post them here.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? Went to my 20th HS reunion...sprained some joints...had facial surgery...went to the wedding of one of my parents...owned a cat with a heart murmur.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I kept some I didn't keep others. I try to think of them as guidelines. I will definitely make some more so stay tuned to this station.

5. What countries did you visit? I stayed here. Like right here. Didn't even move off the East Coast. This is not so good.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? Better health. More kissing. Fame and fortune. A different president/hope for the future.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? January 3rd when Mrs. X died. November 27 when I had the wacky Mohs surgery. April 27 & 28. On the 27th I was driving north for my father's wedding on the 28th and I got the call that my mother's partner of many years, Jake, had died.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Continuing my near 39 year streak of not committing homicide? It was harder to keep this year than you might think. Realistically my answer is plunging into producing an evening of new work, probably. (February 15th & 16th at 8pm in Brooklyn, hope to see you there!)

9. What was your biggest failure? Staying another year in the j.o.b. without significant progress toward supporting myself doing something I love.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Oh christ yes. I fell and fractured my radius, sprained my elbow and wrist and messed up my knee. I got my head professionally busted open to remove basal cell carcinoma. I got food poisoning. Even my pets suffered illness, it was ridiculous.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I honestly can't remember a damn thing that I bought this year, though I know I bought stuff. For lack of a better answer I'll say the ticket to my 20th High School Reunion. Though my Weight Watchers subscription might be a tie.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Anyone who put up with me? Gar's did certainly since he helped me immeasurably in his short stay on the East Coast. Pony Express also fits this category what with the coming to watch me get my head cleaved and all.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?I'm not super impressed with some family members. I'm still weighing whether to include myself in this category. The Athlete has been making some choices I'm having a lot of trouble with.

14. Where did most of your money go? You'd think I'd know this since I spent a significant chunk of the year watching my finances. It seems to be going largely to bills but a lot of it went to the different vets who have kept my pets alive and the pet food store as I tried to find the right balance to keep them that way. Also to getting my new glasses and to the downpayment for the show I'm doing in February. (Feb 15 & 16 in Brooklyn, remember?)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? I got overly excited about my HS reunion and other people's reactions to it. That's about it, it's been a bit of a downer year.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007? I'm so bad at this. Probably White Trash Wedding by the Dixie Chicks. For no particular reason I love the fast picking twanginess of it. It happened to be one of the first songs that shuffled off my iPod after dad announced his wedding date and now I don't enjoy it at all, it sets my teeth on edge. Again, downer year for me, sorry.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer? Sadder. I'm never particularly happy at this time of year and this year has kicked my ass a little. I'm thinner, a lot thinner. I'm poorer and still trying to figure that out.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?Traveling. Kissing. Performing.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Working at the j.o.b.

20. How did you spend Christmas? With friends and family in New England.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007? Nope.

22. What was your favorite TV program? So hard to choose (also so hard to link, I'm going to leave you to google for yourselves). Veronica Mars, Class, How I Met Your Mother, Friday Night Lights, The Riches, Weeds, Battlestar Gallactica, Burn Notice, Saving Grace and probably some more that I'm forgetting. I love TV.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?This is dangerous and I really don't think I should answer it. I'd say yes and leave it at that but hate is such a strong word I'm afraid to stick to close to it.

24. What was the best book you read? I was going to say Time Traveler's Wife but it turns out I read that last year. I'm having trouble remembering anything I read this last year. Oh! Harry Potter, that was awesome and that was definitely this year.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? I can still play the piano with both hands...at the same time!

26. What did you want and get? The rest of the Twilight Trilogy, a sweater handmade specially for me, a Mike Lowell t-shirt, a reprieve from my review, champagne on my birthday, Christmas sheet music, my old camera back, a piano, a superhero necklace

27. What did you want and not get? Big camera, feather duster, Sandman comics, an upgrade of my Flickr account, a new president, world peace and so many other things I am too embarrassed to list here.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? Notes on a Scandal. Can't recommend that enough. I also really enjoyed Stardust and a bunch of things I saw on DVD.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 38 and I didn't do much on the actual day. We usually go bowling with the brunch club on a Sunday near my birthday...no, but we didn't this year. I came home early from Mrs. X's funeral and we had an evening champagne toast at a local wine bar. Alex and I ended up perching Alita between us and making her laugh like a manic sci fi character for hours. Maybe we can do that again, that was fun.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? More kissing? Less surgery? Book deal? A job I really love? Fewer days involving the intimate knowledge of cat urine?

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Crap, I need a belt.

32. What kept you sane? Friends of both the 2 and 4 legged variety and having my own apartment.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? My love for Lee Tergesen has become unavoidable.

34. What political issue stirred you the most? The upcoming election so, in some ways, all of them.

35. Who did you miss?Mrs. X, D. Jay

36. Who was the best new person you met? This also seems dangerous, also I can't remember who I've met. I enjoyed the 2nd year of NaBloPoMo and meeting some new people and their blogs through that.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007. Wear sunscreen (no matter what Gerry says).

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.I'm going to make a lot of moneyThen I'm going to quit this crazy sceneI wish I had a riverI could skate away onI wish I had a river so longI would teach my feet to flyOh I wish I had a riverI could skate away on

There's this other meme that a bunch of people are answering as well. I decided not to since a lot of the questions are love/partner/marriage related and since I don't have anything in that category it's too many Not Applicables for my taste. There's this one question on it, though, that's cracking me up the way people are answering.

The questions are about what you'll be doing in the coming year and one is, "Will you go to bars?" So far everyone I've read has answered in the negative in such a vehement way as to imply that they were reaching for the smelling salts with one hand while typing, "Oh heavens to Betsy no!" with the other.

People, they're bars not opium dens. Those big dudes at the door are to bounce rowdies out not to block you in and force feed you Jagermeister. You can go in, enjoy the company of good friends in an adult environment that reminds you there's a world outside your 4 walls and if you want you can even enjoy a (gasp!) NON alcoholic beverage. It's like everyone thinks that married people aren't allowed in bars. Really not the case. I don't mean that in a "cheating bastards" context, either. Happily married people often enjoy the atmosphere of a nice bar with or without their spouse. I saw it with my own two eyes last night.

So, for you of the "Heavens to Betsy no!" crowd may I suggest you put just one ever so brief visit on your to do list. There might be a pleasant surprise in it for you. If you need suggestions of places for beginners to try let me know, I'm happy to do the research.